Magazine press ink fountain



Dec. 30, 1952 H. M WHORTER MAGAZINE PRESS INK FOUNTAIN 4 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed July 22, 1947 m if K a fqooooooooooooouooooohlFooooooooooooooooooooooom m6 m Mw NW K O T m 0m m QT- o DP NM V 9% e N W@w W O W Dec. 30, 1952 H. M WHORTER 2,623,451

MAGAZINE PRESS INK FOUNTAIN Filed July 22, 1947 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Dec.30, 1952 H. L. MCWHORTER 2,623,4

MAGAZINE PRESS INK FOUNTAIN Filed July 22, 1947 4 Sheets-Sheet 4Patented Dec. 30, 1952 MAGAZINE PRESS INK FOUNTAIN Henry L. McWhorter,Chicago, 111., assignor to The Goss Printing Press Company, Chicago,11]., a corporation of Illinois Application July 22, 1947, Serial No.762,58!)

13 Claims.

The present invention relates to printing presses and more particularlyto a printing press ink fountain for feeding magazine type inks.

In the printing of high-grade magazines it has been customary to usespecial presses which are considerably more complex than those used fornewspaper work. This is due in large measure to the difiicultiesinherent in the inks which must be employed. In the first place magazineinks, particularly in the lighter colors, are much thicker thannewspaper ink, yellow ink, which is the most viscous, being putty-likein consistency. In an attempt to distribute such thick ink in an evenfilm it has been necessary to resort to ink fountains especially adaptedfor the feeding of thick ink and the use of large numbers of inkrollers. In addition, all magazine inks are not of the same putty-likeconsistency, the dark blue and black inks being almost as thin as theinks used for printing newspapers. fountain arrangements which aresatisfactory for thick inks frequently result in the leakage of thethinner inks which must be fed from the same fountain. Conversely,design of overshot fountains suitable for the thinner inks gives rise toproblems such as the uneven feeding of the thicker inks at the fountainblade. As a result it has been considered virtually impossible to designan ink feeding arrangement which provides optimum feed control for awide variety of inks without leaking.

The problem has been further complicated by the fact that magazine inks,which must be used with glossy, non-absorbent paper, are of the volatiledrying type, consisting primarily of a pigment and a pigment-carryingbinder dissolved in a solvent of fixed boiling point. The boiling point,in other words, the temperature at which rapid evaporation of thesolvent takes place, is normally chosen sufiiciently high so thatsubstantial drying does not occur until such time as the printed webenters the drier, otherwise the ink transferring rollers and printingplates would soon become coated with sticky or dried ink requiring acomplete shutdown of the press. In magazine presses employingconventional inking arrangements, a solvent must be used having aboiling point in the range of about 400-600 F. As a result, highcapacity. heaters must be used which ordinarily operate at temperatureswhich are so high as to scorch the paper, particularly at the slow pressspeeds met in starting and stopping. Even more important, the use ofsuch high boiling point solvents greatly limits the maximum speed atwhich magazine Thus, undershot W presses may be operated. The heaters,in addition, are an expensive investment, are costly to operate andrequire frequent maintenance.

Conventional types of ink fountains are also very difficult to clean. Acloth will not satisfactorily remove the stiff ink from the notchbetween the fountain roller and the blade, and the use of pointedobjects to remove this ink entails the danger of scratching the fountainroller or nicking the fountain blade which seriously interfere withproper subsequent control of the ink flow. Also, ink mist and paper lintgather on the outer edge of the ink blade and harden there, disturbingthe adjustment of the ink feed. Removal of such deposit, in the case ofconventional feeding devices, requires the fountain to be disassembled.

Still another difficulty is encountered in the usual types of magazinepresses as a result of shutdown, which gives the volatile ink a chanceto dry on the ink transferring and distributing rollers. It is foundthat considerable paper must be wasted upon restarting of the pressbefore an evenly distributed ink film is established.

With the foregoing in mind, it is an object of my invention to providean improved ink fountain which will effect uniform feeding of both thethickest inks and the thinnest inks employed in the printing ofmagazines. It is an allied object to provide an ink fountain for thefeeding of thick ink but in which thin inkmay be also employed in anadjacent section thereof without the slightest danger of leakage.

It is a further object to provide an ink fountain which feeds ink souniformly that a minimum of mechanical working is required, permittingthe use of abbreviated distribution ar rangements and enabling the useof low' boiling point solvents in the ink.

It is another object to provide an improved ink fountain which may beeasily and quickly cieaned without changing the blade adjustment andwithout danger of damaging the blade or fountain roller.

It is still another object to' provide an ink fountain for use withvolatile inks in which'a' fresh'even film of ink is immediatelyestablished upon starting the printing operation. It is a more detailedobject to provide an improved ink' the film-forming path and as anincident to restarting of the press.

fountain It is a further object of the invention to provide an inkfountain which is more economical to maintain, in which operatingexpenses in time and wastage of paper are kept to a minimum, and whichfacilitates the construction of a compact and low cost printing press.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing detailed description. taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a general view in elevation of a magazine press employingthe present invention and in which a plurality of ink fountains arecon-- trolled by a single actuator. I

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary detailed view inpartial. section showing one ofthe inking mechanisms used in the press of Figure 1.

Fig. 3 is a view of the inking mechanism of Fig. 2 and taken along theline 33 therein, the right hand portion only of the mechanism beingshown Fig- 4. is. adetailed fragmentary view of the ratchet arrangement.and taken. along the line 44? of Fig. 2:.

Fig. 5: shows an. alternative. manner in. which the inking mechanismcontrol device may be actuated.

Fig. 6; is a fragmentary schematic. view showing an actuator ofalternate design which may be employed in place of that shown in Fig.5..

Fig. 7 shows a portion. of the transfer roller andinparticular theraised. helical, surface which may'be-usedthereon.

While the: invention is susceptible of. various modifications andalternative. constructions and uses; 1. have shown. in. the drawingsand. will herein describe in detail only the preferred embodiments of.the invention. It. is to be understood, however, that l do not intend tolimit the/invention. by such disclosure, but aim.- tocover all,modifications andv alternative constructions and. uses falling Within:the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed inthe appendedclaims.

Referring now to Figure 1, there. is shown. one section of a magazinepress it) having ink carriages; it and E2. Centeredbetween them. is animpression. cylinder l3= which, is engaged by five plate cylinders.124-48.. Associated with each. of

the plate cylinders: is: an inking mechanism, such.

mechanisms being generally designated in the present;instar-icebythenumeralsv 59-23.. To con.- trol. the inking mechanisms,the ink carriages are provided. with control actuators 25, 25.respectively which may, for example, take;- the. form of. hy drauliccylinders and. pistons which are in turn coupled, to.- the respective.sets of inking. mechanisms by means. of links 2], 28, and 2.5, SS.

in conventional undershot. fountains a filmof ink. is. formed on thefountain roller and passed to the first steel roller by means. ofaductor roller whichistransported back and. forth between the fountainroller and the steel roller once every three. or, four. revolutions. ofthe plate. cylinder. A relatively large. number of steel and rubberrollers must be used to act as an ink reservoir and to. smooth. out theink film prior to its. application to. the plate cylinders. W'hil'eefforts have been made. to produce a more uniform frow'of ink from thefountain to the plate. cylinders of a magazine press, continuous feedfountain arrangem'ents, particularly of the undershot' type. have beenavoided because of leakage and other difiiculties. In accordance withthe present invention a continuous feed inking arrangement is providedfor a: magazine press using volatile inks in which the diflicultiesordinarily associated with continuous feeding are effectively overcomeand in which numerous ancillary advantages are obtained.

Referring now to the detailed showing of the improved inking arrangementin Fig. 2, and which is representative of one of the five devices 19-23included inthe press of. Figure 1,. it will be first observed that themechanism includes three major elements: a blade supporting assembly 3!,a fountain roller 32, and a transfer roller 34. The blade supportingassembly 3i includes a subframe 3 of cast iron or the like havingmounted thereon an. ink retaining Wall 36 to form an ink trough.

. The wall 36 may be clamped in place on the subframe 3.45 anyconvenient means, for example, by one or more bolts 38 which arerecessed and angled upwardly therein. In the present instance the samebolts 38 are utilized to clamp a flexible fountain blade 39 whichextends horizontally-along the lower portion of the ink troughpresenting its. edge. Sta to. the fountain roller 32. The opposite, orleft hand edge of the fountain blade. 339 is retained between the. lowerportion of the wall 36 and the body of the frame 35. Horizontal. initialadjustment of the. fountain blade 33' may be. effected. if desired byone or more. horizontal adjusting screws All, the adjustment beingmaintained by subsequent tightening. of the fastenin bolts 38.

Since the adjusting screws. ill provide only approximate adjustment andsincea muchfiner and more exact, control of. the ink. film. is requiredfrom point to point along the. fountainroller 3.2,. a. plurality ofadjusting. screws 41 are. used which are advanced, into abutting.engagement with the edge portion. of the blade 39 by means. of. athread. of. fine pitch. Rotation of the screws Al is. of.- fected bymeans. of externally available key-s 4.2 couple dithr-ough universaljoints it...

With the fountain. blade 38'. properly adjusted into a closely spaced.relation withv the fountain roller 32,, and upon rotationof the.fountain roller at a relatively low peripheral speed, for example, oneone-hundredth. of. the press. speed, a film of ink is. formed. on the.fountain roller and. is car ried.counterclockwiseinto contact with thetransfer roller. 3 The latter hasa raised helical ridge 01* spiral. 33thereon, which, as shown in Fig. 7, occupies only a fraction of. the.surface. area. The transfer roller tl l preferably rotates. with a peripheral. speed which corresponds to that-of. the press. so. that.wiping; engagement occurs between the fountain roller 32.. and the.transfer roller 34. The layer of ink. thus. formed. on the; roller; 34.is subsequently passed to a rubber roller. 45. and

' thence to a succession of steel. and rubber rollersleading to the.plate. cylinder it.

In. accordance with. one aspect, of the invention. means are providedon. the blade supporting; assembly 3i for. clamping the fountain.bladeta' into intimate contact with. the fountain roller 32 understandby conditions. In the-present in stance this is accomplished. bya-series of. clamp-- mg pins so (Fig, 3). which are axially slidableintne subframe In. order. that all. of the pins 25 may be simultaneouslyurged into.- pressing engagement with the fountain blade 39, alongitudinal cam is used which contacts the lower ends &3 of the pinsv2'5. In. the present instance the cam is formed on a control. shaft. byreason of a flat machined thereon. It willbc apparent that as thecontrol shaft. 59 is rotated. for-example in a clockwise direction. eachof the pins 46 will ride from. the flat 5-3" to a position. on

the periphery of the shaft. The pressure existing at the blade 39 withthe pins 46 in their clamped or fully advanced position may be readilydetermined by adjustment of a threaded telescoping joint 5| in each ofthem.

Since the transfer roller does not contact the fountain roller but isspaced from it so as to wipe off the ink, it is necessary to employ anink film which is considerably thicker than would, for example, be usedfor a ductor roller. Thus the keys 42 are normally adjusted so that thegap existing between the blades 39 and the fountain roller 32 underrunning conditions is about 0.008 inch along the entire length thereof.While such gap may not be sufficiently wide to produce leakage of thelighter colored inks which are of putty-like consistency, it has beenfound that leakage of the darker magazine inks, which are relativelythin, is exceedingly objectionable. By using the structure shown,however, it has been found that the clamping pressure afforded by thepins 46 upon stopping the press prevents leakage of even the thinnestinks. It might be expected that movement of the fountain blade as muchas 0.008 inch would cause leakage between the blade and the fountaindividers or end plates, one of which has been designated 52 and shown inFigs. 2 and 3. I have found, however, that the latter may be readilyavoided by providing the divider 52 with a flexible rubber sealing strip53 which follows the blade 39 in its upward and downward deflection.

In accordance with one of the features of the present invention, theblade supporting assembly 3| is mounted for bodily rotation about an3:.-

axis which is not only parallel to the axis 33a of the fountain roller32 but which lies sub' stantially in the plane defined by the fountainroller axis and the edge 39a of the fountain blade which cooperates withit. As shown in Fig. 2 this axis of bodily rotation is designated 54.Thus the edge 39a of the blade lies approximately on a line connectingthe two axes 33a, 54, and it is possible to swing the blade supportingassembly counterclockwise without jamming the blade 39 against thesurface of the fountain roller 32. It is to be particularly noted thatsuch swinging may take place even through the blade is in the fullyclamped condition, making the pivoting arrangement a particularly usefulpart of the overall combination. Further, the geometrical layout shownin Fig. 2 is such that the angular positioning of the assembly 3i, asthe latter is swung into place, has a minimum effect on bladeadjustment. In the preferred embodiment of the invention shown in Fig.2, the distance between the blade edge 30a of the axis 5% about whichthe blade is pivotally supported made short enough for the edge 39a topass through a plane defined by the roller axis 530. and the pivot axis54 of the fountain roller. It is highly advantageous that this distancebe no greater than the shortest distance from the pivotal axis 54 to thesurface of the fountain roller. The incorporation of these advantageousdimensions in the preferred form of the invention (Fig. 2) inherentlyleads to the positioning of the fountain blade edge 3911 approximatelyin the plane defined by the axes 33a and 56 when the blade is in inkingposition. It will be seen from an inspection of Fig. 2 that whenever theedge 39a is displaced from the inking position one distance unit along acircular path about axis 54, the change in radial distance between theedge 39a. and the surface of the fountain roll is equal to only a smallfraction of the same distance unit. Therefore, any reasonable inaccuracyin the positioning of the ink trough will cause only an inconsequentialvariation in the about the axis 54 until the tolerance limit is'reached. Also it can be displaced to the right a distance equal to thepermitted displacement to the left and still maintain the edge 39awithin the close tolerance relative to the fountain roll surfaceessential to maximum efficiency. Thus. the total range in a circularpath about axis 54 within which the edge 3901. may be positioned istwice the permitted displacement of the edge 39a in either directionfrom the point of zero tolerance. The invention in certain of itsaspects is not limited to exact alinement of the points 33a, 39a, 54 butwould also include structures in which the pivot axis 54 of the assembly3! is displaced laterally a slight amount from the position illustrated.Thus, location of the axis 54 somewhat to the right would not preventoutward swinging of the assembly.

Swinging of the assembly 3| away from the fountain roller 32 enables thefountain to be cleaned in a very short time without the necessity ofdisassembling or even changing the blade adjustment. Another advantageis that it is totally unnecessary to use sharp'objects to clean thecrevice or groove formed by the fountain blade and the fountain roller,with the result that a possible damage to these accurately machinedsurfaces is obviated.

In accordance with a more detailed aspect of the invention, the axis ofbodily rotation of the blade supporting assembly 3| is caused tocoincide with the axis of the control shaft 49. This is more clearlybrought out in Fig. 3 which shows the control shaft 49 centrally mountedwithin a supporting sleeve or hollow trunnion a which is preferablyformed integral with the subframe 35. The cylindrical outer surface ofthe sleeve sea is, in turn, journaled in a frame member 56 of the inkcarriage ll. axial relationship is to cause the lower ends 48 of theclamping pins to ride on a surface of constant radius as the bladesupporting assembly 3! is rotated through a considerable angle forcleaning purposes. In other words, the relationship enables thepositioning of the clamping; pins to be substantially unaffected by rotation of the blade supporting assembly 3| through its range of angularmovement.

Since it is desirable for the blade supporting assembly 3! to beaccurately located when the fountain is in its normal operatingcondition, lugs or stops 58 having a machined surface 58a thereon may beprovided on the frame 56. To hold the supporting assembly 3% in suchoperating position, clamping bolts 59 are employed which may be threadedinto the frame 56 and angled toward a correspondingly oriented flat orland 51.

The present invention is also concerned with disengagement of thetransfer roller 34 as an incident to clamping of the fountain blade 39.

It is advantageous to have these rollers sep-,

arated when the ink feeder is stopped. Sometimes the press is turnedover several times while The effect of this co the feeder is off forcleaning: and other purposes. If the transfer roller remains in inktransferrin relation to the fountain roller, ink will be deposited onthe: rollers where it will dry and become anuisance. This disengagementhas been here accomplished by an adjustable mounting which causescoordinated bodily advancement and backing away of the roller as thecontrol shaft 49' is rotated. Specifically, it will be noted in Fig. 2that the shaft 60a of the transfer roller is mounted for rotation in aneccentric sleeve 60,. the outer cylindrical surface of which isjournaled in the ink carriageframe 56. In order to open up agap betweenthe fountain roller 32 and the transfer roller 34, the eccentric sleeve60 is caused to rotate in a counterclockwise direction and into theposition illustrated. In the present instance such rotation isproducedby a gear segment 61 which is connected to the end of thecontrol shaft 49 (Fig. 3) and a second gear segment 62 which is in meshtherewith and forms an. integral part of the eccentric sleeve 60. Formore positive coupling, segments 6|, 62 are duplicated on each side ofthe magazine carriage frame;

To summarize the operation of the structure thus far disclosed:

It-will be apparent that operation of the hydraulic actuator uponstopping of the press will be effective to produce clockwise rotation ofthecontrol shaft 49 and counterclockwiserotation of the sleeve 60associated with the gear segment 62, lowering the transfer roller intothe positionshown. Near the end of such movement the clamping pins 58will be advanced into full engagement with the fountain blade 39 ,toshut off the ink flow. Since the ends 48 of the clamping pin have notquite reachedtheperiphery of the shaft 49, the device as shown in Fig. 2can be Said to be in the almost off position. Conversely, when theactuator 25' is moved to the opposite position as an incident torestarting the press, the: clamping pins 46 are caused to movedownwardly onto the fiat 59 of the control shaft 49 intoa releasedposition while the sleeve St is rotated clockwise raising the transferroller 34' into contact with the fountain roller.

, Further in accordance with my invention, release of the fountain blade39 and approach of the rollers 32,. 31% on starting is accompanied byrotational. advancement or indexing of the fountainroller to bring intoaction afreshly' formed inlefilm thereon This is very advantageousbecause the freshly formed. film: has not lost any solvent due toevaporation while the press is idle, In the particular deviceillustrated, advancement on indexing of the fountain roller isaccomplished by means of a ratchet wheel 64- which is engaged by.a-..pawl: 65 mounted on apawl arm as. The: latter is advanced in acounterclockwise direction uponstarting by means of a gear segment 68whichisinmesh with a gear segment 59 coupled to the eccentric sleeve 50.It will be apparent, them that as the control shaft 59 rotates in acounterclockwise direction as an incident to restarting. the press, thepawl 65 will serve to drive the fountain rollerin: a counterclockwisedirection. It is apparent from Fig. 2 that the fountaut blade and thetransfer roller are located atsp'aced' points about the periphery of thefountain v "Elie ratio between the gear segment 68 and the'gear segment56 is so chosen so tooringja fresh. of: ink from the edge 59a of thefountain blade to the area of wiping contact between the" fountainroller 32 and the transfer roller 34. In the specific design illustratedthe-- gear segment 68 moves through an angle of 48 while the cooperatingsegment 63 moves through an angle-of approximately 25. I

In the present invention provision ismade for insuring release of thefountain blade 39 from the fountain roller 32 prior to advancement ofthe latter. Although this may be accomplished in various ways, I preferto use a lost motion connec'tion in the fountain roller drive. As herecarried out the ratchet is provided with a ratchet masking plate iiiwhich prevents the pawl 65 from engaging the ratchet 64% until after thecontrol shaft 43 moves through a sufficient distance to release theclampin pins 46; Thus it will be noted in Fig. 2 that while the pawl 65has moved counterclockwise almost to the left hand edge of the ratchetmasking plate, the clamping pins- 46' have already begun to descend onthe: flat 59 with a consequent release of clamping pressure; The releaseof the fountain blade clamps prior to advancement of the fountain rollerin the manner just described not only makes it possible to move thefountain roller with a very small amount of torque but prevents damageor wear which might otherwise occur at the tip- 39a of the blade.

As previously stated the fountain roller s2 normally operates at aperipheral speed which is a small fraction of the peripheral speed ofthe 1 e-' maining rollers in the press. The manner in which suchreduceclspeed is accomplished will be apparent from inspection of Fig. 3which shows" a worm gear "H driven through a worm 52 which is poweredfrom the ink carriage press drive, Associated with the reduction gearingis an over-'- running clutch M which may for examplebe of the ratchettype and which enables the fountain roller 32 to be advanced by the pawl65 without the necessity of usin any other releasing mechanism;

One of the primary advantages of the fountain roller indexing" devicewill become apparent upon reviewing conditions which exist atthe timethe press is restarted, As previously noted, volatile ink is normallyused which tends to dry on the fountain roller when the latter comes toa stop; however, due to the rapid initial advancement of the fountainroller", a fresh ink film is immediately available to be passed insuccession to the remaining rollers in the press and wastage of paperreduced to a minimum. If, on theother' hand, such indexing were notemployed, approximately inches or more of the web would be lost prior tothe time that the slowmoving" fountain roller would start to supply inkto the transfer roller. This saving in pa er is articularly importantwhere frequent stopping and starting is necessary.

The arrangement outlined above makes it possible as a practical matterto employ continuous feeding of ink with a fountain of the under-shottype, enabling the advantages inherent-in undershot fountains to be morefully utilized. For example, the ink within the ink trough is-constantlycirculated and even the heaviest inks may be fed in an even film withoutwedging. of the against the blade. In addition, the automatic cutofffeatures of the device as an incident to the shutting down of the pressenable a gap to be used between the fountain blade and the foun ta-inroller which may be as great as 0.008 inch in thickness. The advantageof this will be apparent when it is considered that leakage is a problemeven in conventional fountains which employ'gaps on the order of 0.001inch.

One benefit of great practical importance derived from the use of thedisclosed construction is the fact that no ductor roller need be used.Avoidance of the ductor roller has enabled the evaporation of the inknormally encountered to be considerably reduced, the reason for suchreduction being two-fold. In the first place, my observations haveindicated that a ductor roller causes excessive mechanical working ofthe ink resulting in ink mist and adding heat to the ink to a, degreewhere aggravated evaporation of the solvent is produced. This effect maybe more fully. appreciated when it is considered that in a conventionalductor inking arrangement the ductor roller comes up to full press speedwhen it is against the press inking rollers and almost stops, or evenreverses direction, when it comes back against the fountain roller. Thischange in speed must be brought about by the surface friction of theductor roller against the rollers that it contacts, and the kineticenergy of the rapidly rotating ductor roller must be absorbed byfriction against the fountain roller. This energy is immediately turnedinto heat which is effective to evaporate the ink solvent. The samething takes place when the practically stationary ductor roller contactsthe rapidly revolving inking rollers, the frictional ener y whileaccelerating for the most part evidencing itself as an increase in theevaporation of the ink solvent.

An additional advantage of using the continuous feed system disclosed isthat the number of rollers required for transferring the ink film to theplate cylinder may be considerably reduced. While I prefer to use atotal of fifteen steel and rubber rollers between the transfer rollerand the plate cylinder, it is possible to use considerably fewerrollers, in contrast to the eighteen 01' more rollers ordinarilyrequired in a magazine press. This is due in large measure to the factthat less reservoir capacity is necessary to provide a smooth film atthe form rollers. Since there are fewer ink rollers, there is aconsequent reduction in the area over which evaporation of the ink maytake place and also less frictional heat to be dissipated inevaporation. As a result of the foregoing, it has been found that thedisclosed inking mechanism will permit the use of an ink having asolvent with a boiling point of approximately 200 F. without danger thatthe ink will dry on the rollers or printing plates. This permits smallerand less expensive heaters to be used which obviate scorching at eventhe lowest press speeds, and enables the output of the press to bestepped up from approximately 7,000 copies per hour to possibly doubleor even triple thisvalue. It is to be borne in mind that such greatlyincreased output is not obtained by using an inking mechanism which iscomplicated or expensive. On the contrary, the disclosed constructionhas been found to be considerably lessexpensive than conventionalarrangements, smaller in size, and more easily adjusted and operated.

Actuation of control shafts by relatively movable parts of the press Inthe preceding section it has been shown that the movement of the controlshafts 49 may be effected by a hydraulic piston and cylinder 'or anyother analogous type of power source which is put into operation as anincident to the shutting down and starting up of the press. As a resultof testing and development it has been found feasible to actuate thecontrol shaft as a direct result of relative movement of various presselements. One such arrangement is disclosed in Fig. 5 which shows inmore or less schematic form an ink fountain and series of inking rollersincluded on one of the movable ink carriages. The roller arrangement iscovered in greater dctail in my copending application for Letters PatentSer. No. 6,734, filed February 6, 1948, a joint application with CurtisS. Craft, now abandoned.

It will be noted that the control shaft 43 has connected to it a leverwhich is normally urged in a clockwise direction by a spring 8|. Pivotedto the lever 80 is a horizontal push rod 82 which extends intoengagement with a lug or other abutment 84 located on the stationarymain frame of the press. If desired, the push rod 82 may be supported byone or more guides 85 located on the frame of the ink carriage.

As the ink carriage is advanced into its operating position, in whichall the rollers are in ink-transferring contact, the push rod 182strikes the abutment 84 rotating the lever 80 in a counterclockwisedirection. As has been previously observed in connection with Fig. 2,rotation of the control shaft in a counterclockwise direction causes arelease of the fountain blade 39, indexed advancement of the fountainroller 32, and engagement of the transfer roller with the fountainroller. Conversely, retraction of the inking carriage upon shutting downof the press causes the push rod 82 to move to the right under theinfluence of the spring 8|] causing clockwise rotation of the controlshaft 49 and a cessation of the ink flow.

The invention also contemplates actuating the push rod by retraction ofthe plate cylinder l4 when lifting off impression at the completion of arun. As illustrated more or less schematically in the fragmentary viewof Fig. 6, a push rod 32a is engaged by a lug 84a which is mounted on aneccentric sleeve 86 associated with the plate cylinder l4. Rotation ofthe eccentric sleeve in a counterclockwise direction from the positionshown is effective to move the plate cylinder bodily to the left awayfrom the impression cylinder and to cause the push rod to move to theright shutting off the ink flow. The sequence of operation of thecontrol shaft 49 and the associated parts upon either starting orstopping the press is the same as outlined in connection with theprevious embodiment and the only difference resides in the specificmeans employed to move the push rod.

Rsum of operation While the operation will in general. be clear from theforegoing it may be summarized briefly as follows: As an incident to thestarting up of the press the control shaft 49 in each of the inkingdevices Iii-23 is caused to rotate in a direction which causes pressureon the clamping pins 46 to be released. Additional movement of thecontrol shaft 49 causes the pawl 65 to drop from the masking plate illinto engagement with the ratchet, and the fountain roller is indexedforwardly through an arc of sufficient width to supply the transferroller 34 with a fresh ink film, this advancement being permitted by theoverrunning clutch '14. Simultaneously, movement of the control shaft 49,causes the transfer roller 34- to advance into 11 wiping engagementwith the fountain roller :32. Although this arrangement has been foundto prevent any possibility of leakage during stand? by, it enables afresh ink film to proceed through the inking rollers when the printingoperation commences.

Upon shutdown the opposite sequence occurs: The control shaft 49 iscaused to rotate in a direction which causes disengagement of thetransfer roller from the fountain roller. Fur,- ther rotation results inadvancement of the clamping pins 46 into maximum engagement with thefountain blade 39 shutting off the ink flow. Simultaneously, the pawl 65is rotated clockwise into a position in which it rests on the maskingplate "it in readiness for a succeeding indexing cycle.

I claim as my invention:

'1. In an ink feeding device, the combination comprising a relativelyslowly rotating fountain roller, means including a fountain bladepresenting its edge to said roller for forming an ink film thereon, arelatively faster rotating ink transfer roller normally in Wipingengagement with said fountain roller, said blade and transa fer rollerbeing spaced from one another about the periphery of said fountainroller, indexing means for causing initial advancement of the fountainroller through an are at least approximately equal to said peripheralspacing, clamping means for forcing said blade against said fountainroller, and means for sequentially releasing said clamping means andactuating said indexing means as an incident to starting up said press.

2. In an ink feeding device, the combination comprising a relativelyslowly rotating fountain roller, means including a fountain bladepresenting its edge to said roller for forming an ink film thereon, arelatively faster ink transfer roller relatively movable between abacked-off position spaced from said fountain roller and an inktransferring position in which said transfer roller is disposed inWiping relation with said fountain roller at a position spaced from saidblade about the periphery of said fountain roller, indexing means forcausing initial advancement of the fountain roll-er through an are atleast approximately equal to said peripheral spacing as an incident toputting the press into operation, and means for causing relative bodilyadvancement of said rollers into wiping engagement, in timedrelationship to said advancement of the fountain roller.

3. In an ink feeding device, the combination of a relatively slowlyrotating fountain roller, means including a fountain blade presentingits edge to said roller for forming an ink film thereon, a relativelyfaster rotating ink transfer roller peripherally spaced from said bladeabout said fountain roller and normally in wiping engagement with thelatter, indexing means for causing advancement of the fountain rollerand fresh film of ink thereon through an arc at least approximatelyequal to said peripheral spacing, clamping means for forcing said bladeagainst said fountain roller, and means operated as an incident to theadvancement of said carriage into working position for both releasingsaid clamping means and operating said fountain roller indexing means.

4. In an ink feeding device, the combination comprising a relativelyslowly rotating fountain roller, means including a fountain bladepresenting its edge to said fountain roller for forming for firstreleasing said clamping means, then actuating said indexing means foradvancement .of said fountain roller with a fresh film of ink thereon,and finally moving said transferv roller fully into the wiping position.

5. *In an ink feeding device, the combination comprising a relativelyslowly driven fountain roller, means including a fountain bladepresenting its edge to said roller for forming an ink film thereon, arelatively faster driven ink trans.- fer roller for wiping engagementwith said fountain roller, said blade and transfer roller beingperipherally spaced about the fountain roller, indexing means includinga ratchet and pawl for causing initial advancement of the fountainroller through an are at least approximately equal I to said peripheralspacing, an .overrunn-ing clutch for permitting said ratchet and pawl toeffect said initial advancement, clamping means for forcing said bladeagainstsaid fountain roller to shut off the ink supply, a control shaftfor both releasing said clamp and operating said fountain rollerindexing means, and means for disabling said pawl and thus delaying saidindexins until after said clamp has been at least pal ally released.

6, In an ink feeding device, the combination comprising an ink carriage,a plate cylinder having an eccentric for lifting off impression, andinking arran ement, the latter including in combination, a relativelyslowly rotating fountain roller, means including a fountain bladepresenting it edge to said roller for forming an ink film hereon,clampin means enablin h clampin of said blade against saidfountainroller for the prevention of leakage, a relatively fasterrotating ink transfer roller peripherally spaced from said blade aboutsaid fountain roller and normally in wiping engagementtherewith.

indexing :means for ca sin initial advTincement of the fountain rollerthrou h an arc at least pp oximately equal to said peri heral spacing,

and a force transmitting member actuated by said eccentric as anincident to putting on impression for both releasing said clamping meansand opera-t ne said f untain roller indexing means thereby enablinimmediate flow of a fresh film of ink.

-7..In an feed-ins device, the combina ion comprising an nk trough, afountain rolle associated with Sa k. trou h. a flexible fount n blademounted in said trough and presenting its edge to said fountain roller,a series of reciprocable c am n pins hav ng their tips axially abuttingsaid blade at spaced intervals, arotatable control shaft mountedparallel to said fountain roller and having a flattened cam surfacethereon engaging the outer ends of said clamping pins for forcing themsimultaneously against said bla e up n rot ion o the shaft. said inktrough being pivotally mounted about an axis which coincides with theaxis of sai control shaft so that upon bodily swinging of said inktrough and fountain blade away from said fountain roller for purposes ofcleaning said pins ride from said cam surface onto the surface of saidshaft and said shaft remains in its original position unmoved byshifting of said trough.

8. In an ink feeding device, the combination comprising a relativelyslowly rotating fountain roller, a source of ink adjacent thereto, afountain blade positioned below said ink source, a relatively fasterrotating ink transfer roller for removing at least a portion of the inkfilm formed by said fountain blade, a series of threaded adjusting keyspositioned at spaced points along said fountain blade for adjusting thesame, a series of clamping pins interspersed between said adjusting keysand having their inner ends positioned to press against said blade, saidclamping pins being entirely independent of the threaded adjusting keys,and a cam shaft abuttin the outer ends of said clamping pins for cammingthem simultaneously into abutting engagement with said fountain bladefor shutting off the ink flow during standby conditions.

9. In an ink feeding device, the combination comprising a relativelyslowly rotating fountain roller, means including a fountain bladepresenting its edge to said fountain roller for forming an ink filmthereon, a relatively faster rotating ink transfer roller having meansfor mounting the same and movable between a wiping position and abacked-off position, clamping means for forcing said blade against saidfountain roller for cutting off the passage of ink, means forrereleasing said clamping means as an incident to putting said pressinto operation, means for causing the fountain roller to be rotativelyadvanced to present a fresh film of ink to the transfer roller uponrelease of said clamping means, and means for causing timed lateralmovement of the transfer roller into its wiping position relative tosaid fountain roller.

10. In an ink feeding device, the combination comprising a relativelyslowly rotating fountain roller, means including a fountain bladepresenting its edge to said fountain roller for forming an ink filmthereon, a relatively faster rotating ink transfer roller having meansfor mounting the same and movable between a wiping position and abacked-off position, clamping means for forcing said blade against saidfountain roller for cutting off the passage of ink, means for releasingsaid clamping means as an incident to putting said press to operation,means for causing the fountain roller to be rotatively advanced topresent a fresh film of ink to the transfer roller, said advancing meansincluding a ratchet and pawl having a lost motion device for insuringthat the clamping means is released prior to advancement of the roller,and means for causing lateral movement of the transfer roller into itswiping position relative to said fountain roller, in timed relation withrespect to advancement of the roller.

11. In an ink feeding device, the combination comprising a relativelyslowly rotating fountain roller, means including a fountain bladepresenting its edge to said fountain roller for forming an ink filmthereon, a relatively faster rotating ink transfer roller relativelymovable between a wiping position and a backed-off position, saidtransfer roller being peripherally spaced from said blade about theperiphery of said fountain roller, clamping means for moving said bladebetween a film-forming position and a clamped position in which ink iseffectively shut off, means for forcing said blade into its clampedposition, and means for releasing said clamping means and then causingsimultaneous forward indexing of said fountain roller and relativelateral advancement of said transfer roller, said indexing means havinga lost motion connection therein so that a fresh film of ink is advancedfrom said blade to said transfer roller when the press is started up.

12. In an ink feeding device, the combination comprising a frame, an inktrough, a fountain roller associated with said ink trough, a flexiblefountain blade mounted in said trough and presenting its edge to saidfountain roller, adjusting keys threaded in said ink trough forregulating the ink film, a series of reciprocable clamping pins havingtheir tips axially abutting said blade at spaced intervals, a rotatablecontrol shaft mounted parallel to said fountain roller, a flat machinedthereon for engaging the outer ends of said clamping pins to force thesame against said blade upon rotation of the shaft, said ink troughhaving a trunnion on at least one of its ends journaled in said framefor outward swinging movement of the ink trough to enable the latter tobe cleaned, said trunnion having a bore therein for receiving saidcontrol shaft and to permit driving connection to the latter.

13. An ink feeding device for a printing press, comprising, incombination, a rotatable ink supply roller, fountain means including afountain blade disposed longitudinally along said roller for coating thelatter with ink, a transfer roller arranged to have wiping engagementwith said supply roller at a position spaced peripherally therealongfrom said blade, shifting means interconnected with said rollers forlaterally separating said two rollers from each other upon stopping ofthe press; rotating means connected with said supply roller foreffecting, as an incident to restarting the press, a quick angularadvancement of the supply roller while said transfer roller is stillseparated therefrom; and said shifting means being interconnected withsaid advancing means to shift said rollers back into mutual wipingengagement approximately simultaneously with the completion of saidquick supply roller advancement.

HENRY L. MCWHORTER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 375,126 Clark Dec, 20, 1887721,244 Sherwood Feb. 24, 1903 992,475 Barber May 16, 1911 1,900,263Wood Mar. 7, 1933 2,170,025 J ordhoy 1- Aug, 22, 1939 2,369,814.Worthington Feb. 20, 1945 2,377,663 Barber June 5, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTSNumber Country Date 662,685 Germany July 19, 1938

